Jul 14 1985
From The Space Library
The first in a series of laser experiments in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program was only partly successful because laser operators were unable to lock on to a fast, high-flying rocket target, the NY Times reported. A laser station on the island of Maui succeeded in focusing a laser beam on the rocket but failed to bounce the beam off an eight-inch reflective shield attached to it, said unidentified sources.
The Pentagon had announced it was preparing a new round of laser tests similar to one conducted in June when a low-power blue-green laser was reflected off the Space Shuttle Discovery. On July 16 the Pentagon issued a statement saying the first of five planned experiments was conducted in the early morning of July 14 and that "it was only partially successful due to technical difficulties not associated with the experiment." Officials in the SDI office refused to elaborate beyond that saying the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility launched a Terrier-Malemute rocket that traveled almost 450 miles into space and that the laser had been fired. (NYT, July 16/85, C7)
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